I would not move to Tillamook. It has bad issues with season flooding and depending on where you are the smell of the cattle feedlots is just Awful! (The whole town smells to me especially in the summer.) However it is nice to visit and take the free tour of the Cheese factory.

Are you wanting a "small town" or city life?

There are plenty of moms here from Portland/vancover area who could give you more info. I only go to Portland for shopping/Doc visits. I hate the traffic. Some areas of Portland are high crime. Portland has it's own eclectic vibe. My DH says "you never know if the guy on the corner is begging for change or if he is a CEO crossing the street because they dress about the same in Portland." (He's from Texas originally)

We live in Eastern Oregon (no trees, hilly, and in the middle of nowhere! I would not go east of The Dalles if you want trees, shopping malls, access to a birthing center or midwife/doula! They are much more conservative out here, also. (I don't know of a single person that has hair dyed an "unnatural" color in my town or has anything visibly pierced besides women's ears. That is ultra conservative compared to Portland! Also there are NO African Americans/Asians/Middle Easterners in my town. I don't think anyone is racist and we do have a Hispanic population. It just doesn't have much cultural diversity. I'm the most ethnic person in town so it's weird to me! )

Prior I lived in the Salem area. I love the Monmouth/Independence area as it has a small town vibe but is 30 minutes from Salem. Traffic in Salem is not crazy! Although it is the capital it doesn't have the big city vibe. The coast is an 1 1/2 drive over the mountains to Lincoln City. While it does rain a lot in the Salem Area, it is mostly misty rain. Thunderstorms are rare (2x a year or so). The climate is very mild as it is in the Valley. Snow once or twice a year and summers are not crazy hot. (I never had an AC!) Lots of places to go picking berries, hiking, or just going down to river for fun. People dress, dye, pierce,and their is cultural diversity. But if you leave your car doors unlocked, you don't have to worry.

Lincoln city and Newport are on the coast but a bit too touristy. They are colder, too.

Another thing to consider is ... Oregon has a state income tax but no sales tax. Washington does not have an income tax but they have a Sales Tax. It might be financially better for you to move to Vancouver WA area instead and just shop in Oregon.

Honestly, I think all the public schools in Oregon kinda suck! I'm not sure about homeschooling communities but people in Oregon are very open to homeschooling.

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Sahm married to a wonderful man who does the dishes with DS 11/18/02 and DD 7/11/11

I'd have to vote with Stevensmom on Vancouver especially since you both work from home. Big income tax benefit and you are right across the river from all the amenities that Portland has to offer.

In an incredibly broad, general way - the west side of Portland (and North Portland) extending out towards Beaverton tends to be a bit crunchier than the east side extending out towards Gresham. Portland in general though has very active homeschool communities throughout the Metro area.

Both Salem and Eugene are very nice communities as well with the amenities of larger cities. I've lived in both and if I had to pick between the two especially for raising kids, would choose Eugene. There are college-y parts but the town has a lovely, lively feel.

The last of the larger cities to consider would be Bend/Redmond in Central Oregon. It is on the other side of the mountains so has a different climate than the maritime climate of the valley and coast (I love the drizzly rain in Oregon but it is not everyone's cup of tea). As Rdesonia pointed out, NW Oregon (including Portland, the valley and the coast) tends to be the "blue" part of the state while east of the Cascades and portions of southern Oregon tend to be the "red" parts of the state. Bend is a bit of an exception and is pretty much the only blue city east of the mountains. It does have a really active homeschool community as well as homebirth/CD/babywearing folks, local food, co-ops, and a crunchier lifestyle. I'm in Central Oregon now and actually really like it (300 days of sunshine is hard to argue with).

I've lived in Oregon all my life but don't have much experience living in any of the coastal cities. I like to visit (go public beaches!) but I'm not sure I would want to live there. The nice thing about Oregon though is no matter where you choose to settle, you are always near "outdoor activities" like hiking and have the beach, the mountains and the desert all within a few hours of driving.

Vancouver, eh? I will have to check out some real estate. SO has long hair (like down to his butt) and we are pretty crunchy. Our families refer to us as the dirty hippies of the bunch. I love Portland but was unsure of areas/crime. I don't want to live anywhere that I do not feel completely safe alone with four kiddos because I have to be alone when he travels for work (only a few times each year).

I want an area with little snow. I know that people are going to gawk at this but I know that some areas of Oregon (unless you travel up in latitude are not prone to much snow.) I hate snow. On that note, how much snow does Vancouver usually get.

Thanks for the tip against Tillamook. I hate stinky things and I do not want to live with the fear of floods.

Vancouver, eh? I will have to check out some real estate. SO has long hair (like down to his butt) and we are pretty crunchy. Our families refer to us as the dirty hippies of the bunch. I love Portland but was unsure of areas/crime. I don't want to live anywhere that I do not feel completely safe alone with four kiddos because I have to be alone when he travels for work (only a few times each year).

I want an area with little snow. I know that people are going to gawk at this but I know that some areas of Oregon (unless you travel up in latitude are not prone to much snow.) I hate snow. On that note, how much snow does Vancouver usually get.

Thanks for the tip against Tillamook. I hate stinky things and I do not want to live with the fear of floods.

You'll like Vancouver. They even have a CottonBabies store so you can go look at all the fluffy in person! From Eugene to Vancouver along the I-5, there will be very little snow. Maybe one/two times a year. It won't be but a few inches normally. (You can't make a snowman!)

Don't get me wrong...I love Portland! I just think the way he describes it is funny! I'm still trying to convince DH that tucking in his T-shirts is tacky! But he's actually the most crunchiest Republican I know...LOL! He's a co-sleeping, babywearing, CDing ,and happy his wife is Bfing kinda guy! Oregon has that effect on people!

But Nvidaco was right about the red/blue divide and that was probably a nicer way of putting it!

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Sahm married to a wonderful man who does the dishes with DS 11/18/02 and DD 7/11/11